Environmental Award Winners, 2008

Carly Wertheim

Teens for Safe Cosmetics
Ross, CA

What we work on is education. Getting out into the community and making sure people can make educated decisions about what they're choosing to put on their body. This is a really important issue for everyone. Everyone uses personal care and cosmetic products. Actually, the average teen uses between 15 and 25 in any given day. You know, teens, we're making a difference, our voices are being heard, we stand up and we talk about our causes. It's amazing how much attention we get and it's really exciting to be awarded here for that.

David Edmunds

Pinoleville Pomo Nation
Ukiah, CA

We’ve tried to take solid waste that we’ve collected from across the Pinoleville Pomo Nation’s land, and instead of throwing it away or even recycling it, find useful things to do with it on the reservation. There’s a lot of waste… has been a lot of waste on the Nation’s lands and there’s a critical need to clean that up. But I think, too, maybe at a deeper level, it’s reconnecting with an old way of doing things on the rancheria. People used to reuse stuff because they had to and because they saw things not so much as commodities as materials that were useful, and we need to get back to that, I think so. Clearly I’m part of a large group that deserves the award, but it is very gratifying. Everybody in this room cares deeply about the environment and it’s nice to be in that company.

Press Releases

Photo Gallery

Lt. Elena Vaouli & Nate Mease

Piggery Compliance Program
Pago Pago, AS

We’re pretty thrilled to be here, coming from so far away out in the South Pacific [American Samoa]. When we received notice of the award we were all very ecstatic. The work that we’re doing there… we recognize small impacts but major impacts in general for improving the environment and improving public health. We’re also happy because the staff that actually works, that does all the groundwork are all local staff, and so it means a lot to them because they’re not just improving their own environment but also protecting their families and themselves from diseases such as leptospirosis.